Adjustable armrest with door handle



F. J. wEsTRoPE ADJUSTABLE ARM REST WITH DOOR HANDLE Filed oct. 3o, 1940 July 27, 1943.

Patented July 27, 1943 ADJUSTABLE ABMREST WITH DOOR HANDLE Frederick .1. Westrope, Pleasant Ridge, Mich., assignor to F. L. Jacobs Co., Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application October 30, 1940, Serial No. 363,432

Claims.

This invention relates to vehicle body accessories and more particularly to vehicle arm rests.

One object of this invention is to provide an arm rest for vehicle bodies having means for adjusting the arm rest up or down in order to compensate for the differing positions'of diierent passengers or operators of the car, especially for use adjacent the adjustable front seats of automobiles.

Another object is to provide a vehicle arm rest having means associated therewith for providing a grip for closing the door. 2

Another object is to provide anadjustable arm rest and door grip which will enable a passenger or operator to close the door by grasping a ange on the arm rest, the arm rest being often more conveniently located within the reach of the operator than the regular door closing handle.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a preferred embodiment of the adjustable arm rest and door handle of the invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure 1, partly broken away to disclose the adjusting arrangement.

Figure 3 is a vertical section along the broken line 3-3 in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a left-hand side elevation of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the arm rest and door closing handle of the invention as appliedto the right-hand forward door of -an have been provided on-the doors of automobiles,.

but these are inconvenient-to grasp.. Frequently, the arm rests are also inconveniently located,

since it is impossible to position an arm rest in Y a location which will be convenient for all sizes and heights of persons. This is particularly true when such arm rests are applied to the doors of automobiles having adjustable seats, for` an arm rest may be accessible in one position of the seat where it would be inconveniently located if wardly extending projection is provided on the arm rest. This projection may be grasped by the operator or passenger in order to close the door. and thus serves the purpose of a door pull when the regular door pull is inaccessible.

Referring to the drawing in detail, Figures 1 and 3 show a preferred embodiment of the arm rest of the present invention as consisting of an external vertical member I0 and a horizontal member II held in engagement with each other and with an internal vertical member I2 by adjusting and retaining screw assemblies I3. The screw assemblies I3 serve to clamp. the external and internal vertical'members III and I2 against the inside panel I4 ofthe door I5 (Figure 5).

The horizontal member II consists cfa shelflike member IB having an upwardly extending portion I1 bent back upon itself as at I8 and having an aperture I 9 for the passage of the screw assembly I3. The shelf-like member I6 is preferably of metal and is provided at its forward edge with a downwardly anged portion 20 to which is secured, as by welding, a bent portion 2l of approximately `U-shaped cross section having a horizontally-flanged portion 22 secured as by welding to the underside -of the shelf portion I6. The space above the shelf portion I6 is filled with a resilient material 23 such as sponge rubber, over which there is drawn a fabric covering 24 extending around the portions I1 and I8. The opposite edges of the fabric covering are engaged by the opposite edges of an..upholstery fabric covering 25 backed by a supporting member 26 (Figure 3) mounted by means of suitable fastening elements beneath the shelf portion I6.

The screw assemblies I 3 are two in number and are mounted near the opposite ends of the arm rest., Each 'screw assembly I3 consists of .a threaded bolt 21 having a nut 28 on the outer end thereof, `a c washer 29 between the portion I 0 and I8, and a serrated head 30 on the interior. The head 30 is provided with horizontal ribs or serrations 3l engaging similar serrations 32 upon the wall ofthe depressedportion 33 of the internal vertical member I2. A slot 34 for the passage of the bolt 21 is provided in the depressed portion 33, the bolt 21 being provided with attened sides 35 where it passes through the slot 34. The bolt 21 is provided with a washer 36. The external vertical member In is similarly covered with a fabric layer 31 (Figure 3) to match the fabric covering 24 upon the horizontal member II, whereas a similar fabric layer 38 covers the apertures 39 of the same contour as the depressed portions, and adapted to receive the latter (Figure 3).

In the adjustment of the arm rest of this lnvention. the operator loosens the nut 28 of the adjusting screw assembly i 3 by means of an ordinary wrench. This enables the serrations 3i to be released from their engagement with the serrations 32, whereupon the bolts 21 of the screw assemblies I3 may be slid upward or downward in the slots 34, thereby adjusting the level of the horizontal member vIi to its most convenient position and inclination. When this position has been reached, the operator tightens the nuts 28, whereupon the serrations 3| upon the head 3l! again engage the serrations 32 upon the depressed portion 33, locking the entire assembly in its adjusted position.

In the use of the arm rest of the invention, the operator rests his arm upon the upper surface of the fabric covering 24 on the horizontal member II while the door is closed. When the door is open, however, he may close it by grasping any part of the downwardly extending portion 40 running along the forward edge of the horizontal member il and formed by the bent portions 2B and 2| and their rubber and fabric coverings 23 and 24. The door may thus be closed without the need of reaching for the regular door closing handle 4i or the window crank 42 (Figure 5). 'I'he use ofthe window crank 42 for closing the door subjects this member to a great strain, yet the Window crank 42 is often more conveniently accessible to the operator or passenger than the usual handles Il. The present invention provides a downwardly extending ridge 40 running entirely the length of the arm rest portion I I and within the reach of the operator or passenger, even when the door is wide open.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been described and illustrated, it will be understood that various modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In an arm rest attachable to a panel having an aperture therein, an elongate vertical member slidably engaging one wall of the panel, an approximately horizontal arm rest 4member adapted to be secured to the panel, a dished vertical member received in said aperature and means extending through the dished vertical member for holding said arm rest member in engagement with said elongate slidable member and for holding said elongate and dished members in engagement with the panel, said dished vertical member having an elongated slot vi'or adjustablyireceiving said holding means, said elongated vertical member having a hole therethrough approximately corresponding in size to the cross-section of said holding means, and said vertical member slidably engaging the opposite wall of the panel, an approximately horizontal arm rest member adapted to be supported against said elongate vertical member, and means extending through the elongate vertical member and dished plate member for holding said arm rest member in engagement with said elongate vertical member, said arm rest member having a downwardly extending flange adjacent said elongate vertical member accommodating the' holding means and a projection at the lower outer edge thereof extending downwardly below the level of said arm rest member and holding means whereby said downwardly extending projection serves to conceal said downwardly extending flange and holding means and also to form a handle for the grasp of the operator.

3. In an arm rest attachable to a panel having an opening therein, a plate-like vertical member having a marginal flange adapted to be inserted in said opening to project therethrough and be limited by said marginal flange, said plate-like member having a slot, a shield plate positioned against the panel in opposed relation to the plate-like member, an approximately horizontal arm rest member adapted to be supported by the plate-like member and shield plate, said arm rest member comprising a structure having a downwardly depending ange adjacent said shield platewith an opening therein, a downwardly extending rib formed on the opposite edge of said arm rest, a screw projecting through said opening in the downwardly depending flange and through an opening in the shield plate and platelike member whereby said rib serves to conceal said screw member and also tofform a handle to be grasped by the operator.

4. In an arm rest attachable to a panel having an opening therein, a shield plate disposed over the opening and slidablyA contacting the panel, a plate-like member having a marginal flange adapted to project through said opening and said plate adapted to be limited against movement by said flange, said plate-like member having an elongated slot and being roughened on its inner side, an approximately horizontal arm rest member adapted to be supported by said shield plate and plate-like member, said arm restmember having a depending flange along one edge thereof and a downwardly depending rib on its opposite edge, va screw extending through said slot and an opening in the shield plate and through saidfiange and having its head contacting the roughened inner surface of said elongate sliding member extending upwardly beyond said dished member whereby said elongate sliding-member serves as a shield to conceal said elongate slot and saidV panel aperture while pergaging one wall of the panel with the dished portion received in said aperture, an elongate plate-like member and a resilient covering member carried by said arm rest and anchored thereto.. Y

5. An arm rest structure comprising, a substantially horizontal shelf member having oppositely extending flanges along one edge thereof, a downwardly depending rib formed on the remaining edge of 4said shelf-like member, an arcuately curved plate vcarried'by said rib providing a handle-portion, and a layer of resilient material mounted o n said shelf-member and extending downwardly over the depending rib, and a Y cover for said resilient materiall passing .over the rib and down over and up along the depending FREDERICK .I. WSTROPE. 

